RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI/LAHORE: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry has declared that it will not allow any propaganda against the GSP Plus status, emphasizing its critical importance for the country’s economy.

Addressing an emergency press conference at Federation House, FPCCI Senior Vice President Saqib Fayyaz Magoon said that Pakistan’s exports have risen significantly under GSP Plus.

“Our exports have reached USD8 billion compared to USD3.5 billion before the facility,” he said, adding that no one would be allowed to campaign against it.

FPCCI Vice President Aman Paracha said that India had previously made unsuccessful attempts to have the facility withdrawn. He stressed that GSP Plus holds vital importance for the national economy and that a stronger Pakistan would benefit the entire region.

President of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry Akram Rajput highlighted that exports worth $3 billion originate from Korangi alone. He described GSP Plus as an integral part of the economy and affirmed that the business community stands united like a “solid wall” in support.

Representatives from the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association, and other bodies also attended the press conference and strongly condemned any propaganda against GSP Plus.

Meanwhile, senior leaders of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) sounded a strong alarm over the potential revocation of Pakistan’s GSP Plus status with the European Union, warning that such a development would inflict catastrophic damage on the national economy and plunge millions of working families into unemployment.

The warning came during a press conference held at the FPCCI Regional Office in Lahore, attended by Regional Chairman and Vice President Zaki Ijaz, UBG Patron-in-Chief S M Tanveer, and other prominent business figures from across the country.

Addressing the media, the leaders described GSP Plus not merely as a trade concession but as the very lifeline of Pakistan’s economy. They noted that more than 66 percent of Pakistan’s export goods — including textiles, leather, and surgical instruments — currently enter European markets completely duty-free under this preferential arrangement, calling the facility the oxygen that sustains the country’s entire export sector.

The leaders further underscored that the European Union remains Pakistan’s single largest export market, absorbing approximately 25 to 30 percent of the country’s total global exports. They warned that a revocation of GSP Plus status would immediately expose Pakistani products to tariffs of 10 to 12 percent, potentially causing a direct annual loss of eight to nine billion dollars to the national economy. Once Pakistani goods become more expensive in European markets, they cautioned, the country would effectively be priced out of one of its most vital trade arenas.

The FPCCI leadership was emphatic that the consequences of losing GSP Plus would reach far beyond the boardrooms of large industrialists and strike directly at the livelihoods of ordinary Pakistanis. The export industry, particularly the textile and leather sectors, currently provides employment to millions of workers and women nationwide, with approximately three million families dependent on export-linked income. They warned that withdrawal of the status would trigger factory closures and mass unemployment on a scale severe enough to spark a fresh social and economic crisis across the country.

The leaders also drew attention to the broader regional implications of the threat, cautioning that the loss of Pakistan’s GSP Plus status would effectively open European markets to India. They stated that once Pakistan loses its foothold on European store shelves, India stands ready to permanently fill that vacuum, and that reclaiming a lost market would be virtually impossible.

Former chairman of the Pakistan Ready Made Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Ijaz Khokhar, called for urgent structural reforms in the wake of growing media speculation about Pakistan’s GSP Plus standing. He urged the government to restructure the country’s textile industry along the lines of Bangladesh’s model, stressing that GSP Plus represents a lifeline for Pakistan’s textile sector that cannot be allowed to slip away.

Former chairman of the North Zone chapter of the Pakistan Ready Made Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Adeeb Iqbal, also underlined the critical importance of GSP Plus for Pakistan’s export economy and commended the FPCCI for its active role in advocating for the preservation of this vital trade status.

The press conference concluded with a collective call on the government to take immediate and concrete steps to safeguard Pakistan’s GSP Plus status, warning that inaction at this stage could trigger an irreversible economic setback for the country.